Ruf CTR - the 700bhp sports car inspired by the Porsche 911

Ruf has long been associated with its own versions of Porsche products, but now the company has created its own car, inspired by its most famous model and launched at the Geneva motor show.

The new CTR looks strikingly similar to a 964-generation 911, but it is based around a new carbonfibre bodyshell that the company has produced itself, and is powered by a twin-turbocharged version of Porsche’s water-cooled Mezger engine.

Power output is being quoted at 700bhp, with that working against a claimed dry weight of just 1200kg. That makes it even faster than the car that has inspired it, the 1987 RUF CTR 'Yellow Bird', which was once clocked at 7.3sec over the 0-100mph benchmark and which also featured in the classic film ‘Faszination at the Nurburgring’ being driven around the Nordschleife at drift angles that are still startling nearly three decades later.

Company president Alois Ruf, son of the founder, says Porsche has given its permission for the car’s classically inspired looks. Underneath its carbonfibre bodywork, which is built around a steel frame, the new CTR gets double wishbone suspension at each corner, working with pushrod-operated coil-over springs and dampers. Power and torque – a meaty 649lb ft – is directed to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox, with Ruf telling Autocar that a dual-clutch automatic version is also planned to follow.

Only 30 manual CTRs will be built. A base price of €750,000 in Germany, before taxes, makes the CTR even more expensive than the ‘resto-mod’ air-cooled 911s being sold by by US company Singer.

That hasn’t been a bar to sales, with Ruf saying that 10 have already been ordered, with several bought off the company’s stand at Geneva. He also confirms that there are plans to send the new car out onto the Nordschleife to establish that it is indeed quicker than its famous forebear.

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It looks fabulous. Lovely smooth panels with no unnecessary creases or overstyled detailing. The interior is brilliant too, that minimalist steering wheel is such a refreshing change from the button covered norm of modern cars. I love it.